DARCY FITZWILLIAM
Name: Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is a fictional character and one of two protagonists in
Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. He is an archetype of the aloof
romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Bennet, the novel's other
protagonist.
In the novel, Mr. Darcy is a wealthy gentleman with an income of at least £10,000
a year, and the owner of Pemberley, a large estate in Derbyshire, England. When
his friend, Mr. Bingley, begins courting Elizabeth Bennet's older sister, Jane,
Darcy disapproves of the relationship and convinces Bingley that Jane does not
care about him. However, Darcy --having previously slighted Elizabeth at their
first meeting which, combined with his interference in Bingley and Jane's
budding relationship, has caused her to dislike him intensely-- eventually
becomes attracted to Elizabeth, and begins to court her, in his own way, while
struggling against his continued feelings of superiority.
When she turns down his proposal of marriage however, Darcy is stunned, and
shocked into a new reality of how his behaviour is perceived by others,
particularly Elizabeth Bennet. Now he reconsiders all, and then commits to go
out of his way to demonstrate his respect and devotion for her. He tempers his
pride, reevaluates his feelings on the relationship between Bingley and Jane,
and, acts to save Elizabeth's youngest sister Lydia from disgrace at the hands
of his bitter enemy, George Wickham: after these two have run away together,
Darcy convinces him to marry her. Darcy's second proposal to Elizabeth, against
the express wishes of his Aunt Lady Catherine, completes the novel's climax; she
accepts him, much to the delight of her mother, and the novel concludes with her
becoming Mrs. Darcy.
Darcy is depicted within the novel as a seemingly cold and aloof man with a
large sense of personal pride that frequently expresses itself as arrogance. His
apparently distant manner and contempt for those around him leads to his
becoming the focus of the disdain of both Elizabeth and many of the other
characters over the course of the narrative, particularly in light of the claims
of George Wickham, who insists that Darcy has wronged him in the past and who,
because of his approachable and charming nature, is automatically given the
benefit of the doubt over Darcy. It is eventually revealed, however, that these
first impressions are erroneous, as Darcy's seemingly arrogant character masks a
sincerely generous, compassionate and loving nature, and that it was in fact he
who was wronged by Wickham, whose own character is revealed to be untrustworthy
and duplicitous. Even such matters as his interference in the relationship
between Jane and Bingley are presented and re-interpreted as being motivated by
genuine concern for the feelings of his friend rather than out of malicious
intent.
Name: Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is a fictional character and one of two protagonists in
Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. He is an archetype of the aloof
romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Bennet, the novel's other
protagonist.
In the novel, Mr. Darcy is a wealthy gentleman with an income of at least £10,000
a year, and the owner of Pemberley, a large estate in Derbyshire, England. When
his friend, Mr. Bingley, begins courting Elizabeth Bennet's older sister, Jane,
Darcy disapproves of the relationship and convinces Bingley that Jane does not
care about him. However, Darcy --having previously slighted Elizabeth at their
first meeting which, combined with his interference in Bingley and Jane's
budding relationship, has caused her to dislike him intensely-- eventually
becomes attracted to Elizabeth, and begins to court her, in his own way, while
struggling against his continued feelings of superiority.
When she turns down his proposal of marriage however, Darcy is stunned, and
shocked into a new reality of how his behaviour is perceived by others,
particularly Elizabeth Bennet. Now he reconsiders all, and then commits to go
out of his way to demonstrate his respect and devotion for her. He tempers his
pride, reevaluates his feelings on the relationship between Bingley and Jane,
and, acts to save Elizabeth's youngest sister Lydia from disgrace at the hands
of his bitter enemy, George Wickham: after these two have run away together,
Darcy convinces him to marry her. Darcy's second proposal to Elizabeth, against
the express wishes of his Aunt Lady Catherine, completes the novel's climax; she
accepts him, much to the delight of her mother, and the novel concludes with her
becoming Mrs. Darcy.
Darcy is depicted within the novel as a seemingly cold and aloof man with a
large sense of personal pride that frequently expresses itself as arrogance. His
apparently distant manner and contempt for those around him leads to his
becoming the focus of the disdain of both Elizabeth and many of the other
characters over the course of the narrative, particularly in light of the claims
of George Wickham, who insists that Darcy has wronged him in the past and who,
because of his approachable and charming nature, is automatically given the
benefit of the doubt over Darcy. It is eventually revealed, however, that these
first impressions are erroneous, as Darcy's seemingly arrogant character masks a
sincerely generous, compassionate and loving nature, and that it was in fact he
who was wronged by Wickham, whose own character is revealed to be untrustworthy
and duplicitous. Even such matters as his interference in the relationship
between Jane and Bingley are presented and re-interpreted as being motivated by
genuine concern for the feelings of his friend rather than out of malicious
intent.